Crypto gang laundered £6m in dirty cash for convicted drug trafficker

Six men have been found guilty of a large-scale illegal cryptocurrency operation worth £6 million.

Aftab Allah, 36, Shehbaz Allah, 40, Hamzah Habib, 38, Kamran Javid, 33, Asim Afzal, 34, and Imad Younis, 37, were convicted on Friday following a lengthy trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

An investigation identified that the group were effectively involved in laundering cash for now-convicted drug trafficker Gary Morris between March 2015 and September 2019.

The sum of money involved was over £6m.

Some of the illicit funds seized included a large haul of banknotes stuffed into a padlock bag and a Snickers box hidden in the ceiling space of a shop linked to two of the men.

Prosecutors stated the group acted together and with others in a scheme which they suspected or knew concerned “criminal property”.

The charge, under the Proceeds of Crime Act, added they did “receive, deposit, transfer, exchange and organise” the transmission of cryptocurrency and cash by putting it into bank accounts and digital cash wallets on behalf of others.

Each of the men could each a maximum 14 year jail-term when they are sentenced next month.

‘Family friend’

Gary Morris – a Scots drugs boss jailed for trafficking millions of pounds of cocaine – was a central figure in the case.

In his evidence, Shehbaz Allah told jurors the drug trafficker was a “family friend” who he believed was involved in the building trade and also had an interest in cars.

He said he and the other man “once or twice” tried to go into business together.

This apparently included renting out an expensive Audi RS6 and also plans to buy a caravan at a holiday park.

Allah insisted he did not know the man was involved in high-level criminality.

Jurors were shown footage of officers searching the Day to Day shop in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, where Allah and other relatives worked

This included tens of thousands of pounds hidden in a Nike bag in the ceiling space.

Allah told the trial that some of the cash belonged to him from legal cryptocurrency trading. The majority apparently belonged to the drug dealer.

He said he had been asked to keep it, as the criminal seemingly had “problems with his business banking”, with his account frozen.

“He did not want to leave it in his mum’s house in a scheme in case it went missing or was stolen”, Allah said.

Asked by his KC Mark Moir why it was then stored in the roof space of the shop, he replied that he had put it there, but that other staff were unaware.

The court was also told about a photo of £300,000 in cash taken by one of the gang.

Allah again claimed the money was his from buying and selling Bitcoin. He stated to the court that some of the funds went toward building an extension on his house.

Prosecutor Erin Campbell later put to Allah that he had been “instrumental” in opening different accounts to shift and hide the dirty cash.

She also said he had a “network of people” he could deal with in cryptocurrency.

Miss Campbell suggested this could be an advantage to a drug dealer with “a lot of money” who wanted to keep “as much distance as possible” from where it came from.

Allah denied this. The advocate depute also said putting expensive cars in Allah’s name could make it more difficult for the authorities to seize them if the trafficker was caught.

Miss Campbell put to him: “You knew him well enough to embark on a business adventure, but you had no idea that he was dealing in drugs?”

Allah: “No, never.”

The prosecutor further stated: “You and your brother were administrators for his money.

“You were responsible for hiding assets for quite some time. You were effectively his PA (personal assistant).”

Allah: “No.”

The court heard this also included arranging and paying for flights and hotels for the trafficker.

The Allahs, both of Lesmahagow, Habib, of Cambuslang, all Lanarkshire, Javid, of the city’s Govanhill, Afzal, of Thornliebank, East Renfrewshire, and Younis, also of Govanhill, are due to be sentenced next month in Edinburgh.

They had all been on bail, but were remanded in custody by Judge Lady Poole.

The gang also faces a separate confiscation hearing, likely next year, under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Prosecutors have also moved to have the first three hit with Serious Crime Prevention Orders.

Lady Poole stated: “Money laundering is a serious offence. It enables those responsible for crime to conceal and transfer criminal proceeds.

“This, in turn, allows criminal enterprises to remain operational, reinvest profits and expand their activities.

“Organised crime often generates wider criminality, blighting lives and communities. I refuse the applications for you to remain on bail, and it is revoked.”

Detective sergeant Lesley Buchanan-Barlas said: “Targeting those involved in the handling of illicitly sourced funds remains a priority for Police Scotland.

“Cases like this show our commitment to detecting and disrupting such activities and is a reminder that this is taken seriously.

“We continue to work with partner agencies to fully investigate such incidents and hold those responsible accountable for their actions.”